Working Groups Assembly – 20th March 2012

Feedback from the May meetings, this is info for all WGs and your involvement

1st May – There’ll be marches across Europe tied into labour day. AS much involvement as possible. The 1st is about engagement, having a discussion and maybe a music event. This needs to be inspiring.

3rd May – Local and Mayoral elections also a day of environmental action by external groups.

12th May – AN educational walking tour of the city, locations to be researched. Looking at naughty corporations and organisations. Hoping for a teach out towards the end of the day. Organised by TCU. Suggestions greatly welcomed.

A call-out for the next week from WG for involvement.

? – What is relevant about the 1st.

Response – get involved with relevant WG. Events are announced on social.occupylegal.org.uk

15th – Panning meeting Wednesday 21st , 7:30pm LARC, near White-chapel Tube. There will be an official Occupy London action on the 15th.

On 6th June is the pilgrimage of justice from London to Canterbury, partly organised by Occupy Faith, contact Tanya Patton. 2-3 weeks, stopping in towns along the route. GA on local issues at the conference in Canterbury.

Another May project, Occupy Everywhere. An autonomous website including information like the tool-kit General assembly, camping, working groups to allow autonomous groups to organise online. Need help proofreading this. This would be independent from WGs to allow other groups to affiliate and organise themselves. These could be called affinity groups. Contact Vica for more information.

Hassan – Syrians need support on Saturday. We need a solidarity action, how does this fit in with Occupy London information?

BOROUGHS

We will start on June 5th, using groupspaces and the website. We hope to publish soon, 5 picnics. On 5 Sundays, north south east west, Victoria, Richmond, Hampstead Heath, Battersea. Culminating in a massive picnic in Hyde Park. 17th August.

We want to include lots of people in May planning, intention is to have a freshers fair style event. Either an evening or Saturday afternoon. Each WG to have a table. For the first hour a meet and greet and sign up sheets. The second part, some kind of Outreach GA to encourage people into planning mode for Occupy May

Hope to have a series of planning meetings throughout April including liaison with unions, activists etc. A Freshers Fair style meeting at Friends Meeting House in Euston.

? – What about the jubilee? What are you planning to do?

Response- Find people interested in this and report back.

Ronan to check availability of Friends Meeting house on a Saturday in a couple of weeks. [warm reception to this time]

Conflicting info – suggestion for the spring training session to be the 14th April, including Seeds of change , Direct Action training. However, the national conference is confirmed being 13th-15th April.

DIRECT DEMOCRACY

Want to link with process, building connections with theory and practice. Need for a weekly meeting for process

Particular issues that young people raise include SOPA and the portrayal of young people in the media. Hoping to Work with 3 youth groups in Brixton tower Hamlets and Battersea.

CORPORATIONS

We need a lot of people now getting involved. The group is focussed on Xstrata and Glencore, many were arrested on N30 at their office while occupying to highlight their levels of executive pay. These 2 corporations are currently attempting to merge. Working with the title “the soiled wedding” we are attempting. Buying most of Africa. These companies have a very heavy mining involvement. It has been relatively easy to find horrific actions and we’re looking at putting on an event maybe at Amnesty, with panels of activists and experts, to raise awareness leading to a major day of action.

Skills being looked for range from translation skills to arts skills, research skills, we had a meeting for Art and Direct Action yesterday, great stuff with a bunch of art students helping. Also looking for contributors to DA. Slightly clouded details so far due to secrecy. Thursdays 7pm for the next meeting. We’ve broken into subgroups for this and the main feedback coming every WG meeting. Again, sorry to say this but we can’t currently confirm the location. We will let you know. Keep checking the website.

We can have an impact, these companies were chosen at random but show the power and corruption of corporatism. The humanitarian disgrace. They’re like a Disney villain!

A lot of the individuals contacting us are from networks of activists both here and in the places where these companies functions. Channel 4 working with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

TCU

Next meeting is Wednesday 6pm at LARC, White-chapel . We need bigger TCU outreach, we’ve been reflecting but are ready to go again. We want to recreate TCU of old.

This Sunday, someone from South Africa involved in a TCU initiative there. A chance to share ideas. What is the link between education and activism. Everyone should get involved. No location yet for this.

Clarification Point – democracy WG would love to get involved with this.

Clarification Point – Please let the press team know of the location ASAP.

FINSBURY SQUARE

I’m at FS, as most are aware, we’ve been having some problems at camp. We ask the GA for patience and time to sort them out. The main problem is right now being discussed. On the 7th April we have the Working Group May planning meeting. We will use this as a point to have organised for. By this time we will have a structure to allow full participation.

Facilitator- remember this is feedback, lets not try to start a discussion.

Lee – I’m from FS, this proposal hasn’t been bought before. A lot of problems exacerbated by overpopulation.

Rosa – Perhaps this relates to the restructuring group. About creating more public spaces. Because of recent evictions. I have a lot of things to feedback about this.

Onesu – Isn’t this the WG GA, shouldn’t all of them be here? Why is he saying we should wait three weeks. People from WGs inform of time and locations, job done.

Vica – we are pressed for time, Internal Communications are currently in process of collating list of WG.

PRESS

First thing, a call-out for people in WGs. If you have a news announcement. Really good to let us know. Then we’re aware if calls come in and we can answer them . We’ve had some issues with this in last few weeks. We’ll be having words afterwards!

On to-do list. Articles going up on the website, What next for battle of education, changes of laws about squatting. If you want something on the site, please contact us. E.g. Guest blog, Occupiers Perspective. We only proof read and then put them up. Tomorrow, looking at as well as new site, the budget, hopefully a statement from the Economics WG.

Moving into May, trying to inspire people with upcoming events. Ways to contact Press WG, use the phone number and email on the front of the website.

Tammy – It’s a bit late saying this but, budget day tomorrow, a few have said lets wait for that idiot Osborne’s stuff and then draft an alternative budget!

I would like to say now we have Occupy Tower Hamlets, Lime house Branch, many more to come possibly. We’ve been Occupying since Sunday evening. We now have several tents, but very little other stuff. We need people willing to do info, there are a lot of passers-by. It is a big Canary Wharf commuter thoroughfare. Even if you spend only 2 hours there. That’d be amazing. One main complaint so far is that there doesn’t seem to be much going on from the public’s point of view.

We’ve contacted community centres, and a few concerned about occupation of a green site denying them access to dog walking and the associated mess.

Everyone is welcome, but only as long as they are coming to HELP. I’m sorry to the press team that we didn’t announce it. We did it Iranian secret police style!

We urgently need a portaloo, many waiting for it… but we do have running water. Out first £10 donation from lee at FS, gratefully received. We need hot tea.

E – Compost toilet?

Earthian – liaising with someone about that.

? – How to contact you?

Tammy – Are you Occupy London? Or separate.

Earthian – setting up on first day, we were asked what we were doing by a police officer. He wanted to know our affiliation with OL. We said, of course we are!

Kay- the new camp, I thought was not allowing homeless people with drink and drug issues were not allowed.

Earthian – This is not something we have said or done.

FINSBURY SQUARE

Productive GA. Had a discussion about process, the things wrong at FS whether they were FS only or innately Occupy London. 6 proposals formed about process, put it on groupspaces where stuff is clearly organised [Onesu’s wit, not the minute taker’s]. Build on this, reform process, a skill share community. If you have skills. Lets just not cry about finance. I won’t elaborate, check groupspaces.

Council meeting didn’t happen this week, delayed until Friday week, update though is still that they’re not pursuing eviction. We’re hoping excess pop. Can be moved over to Lime house. Hoping the finances can help with this. Toilets are urgent. Local communities support of Lime house for toilets being relied upon.

Julie – Sounds like you had a good discussion, groupspaces is useful but only an aspect of this grouping. Maybe bring these proposals to Process WG.

Facilitator- encourages to approach group.

Onesu – people should come to FS rather then us come to you.

FINSBURY SQUARE – KITCHEN

Working hard this week, overpopulation has been a problem. Feeding over a hundred people daily. We’ve got Tech WG working at FS, very productive. There has been a problem communicating funding issues. I’m sure we can sort this. There’s been reorganisation

FINSBURY SQUARE – INFO

Trying to co-ordinate with existing groups. Have a lot of contacts. A really big job. There are lists of supporters that need typing up. Need help.

FINSBURY SQUARE– CRAFTERS AND SKETCHERS

A new group, [does what it says on the tin.]

Ronan – Can we have someone at FS as a point of contact for Press.

Tammy – New WG in process of forming. When discussing NHS cuts / welfare issues etc… We talk a lot of drink and drug issues. With a background in this (see guardian article I was in). So a few of us are considering a group called OCCUPY CHILDHOOD. SO many people with drug problems anger etc. A lot of this goes directly to childhood issues. No meeting arranged this week yet, but please contact me for your involvement.

WELFARE

No meeting for a few weeks.

FINANCE

OK, due to lack of time, we’ll sum up. We’ve written up exactly how the WG functions and the finance GA, the difference between finance group and signatories. This will be up on website, on group-space, printed on-site. A lot of Qs will be answered in this.

About more financial autonomy for groups and camps. It’s about building parallel finance systems, not just OL finance.

Any funds raised by Occupy London camps and WGs will be theirs to control.

Groups cannot sell things as we are not a business

Camps and groups doing this are advised to keep good records of finance.

Camps and WGs can request further funds from Occupy London. The group at a GA can decide whether separate funding is doing so adequately before a funding request is made.

Onesu – does this list include the name of all the signatories. Does this include all expenditures of Occupy London finances. An inventory of all things that Occupy London own.

If we own things, they should be being used.

Em – Signatories are not listed because the decision is not up to us. They are to decide how to announce themselves. At the moment the bank account is still not open. This is from the banks end not ours.

Liz – We felt the best thing to do was to ask the signatories their opinion.

Vica – In the future, we’ll need more signatories please get in contact, we can’t add them now, but once the account is opened we can do this. Before we take any more points. Next Tuesday, 3pm at Salvation Army. a WG discussion about this. Can I see people who think this point cannot be made at that meeting. [group agrees to leave this discussion until the meeting]

Tammy – Me personally, I’m not bothered about the signatories. Fair play to them for this. I do not blame the signatories one little bit due to the abuse I have seen again and again. There are better ways to deal a message then the way people have been.

? – Just to add that, I hear you about the necks on the line. They aren’t though until they announce themselves.

Kay – I’m very concerned about the use of the word “we”. Once again anyone can attend the WG meeting.

[Steve arrives to investigate accuracy of minutes]

Onesu – When I use “we” I refer to FS.

[group decides to leave other answers until WG meeting 3pm next week.]